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Solar panels from China could face tariffs
David R. Baker
Wednesday, March 21, 2012
The U.S. Commerce Department plans to slap import tariffs on Chinese-made
solar cells in a trade dispute that has strained relations between the two
countries and divided the American solar power industry.
The tariffs, proposed Tuesday, follow complaints that the Chinese government
has given its solar companies an unfair advantage in the international race
to dominate the industry, supplying low-cost loans and land for new
factories.
Those factories have swamped the global market with cheap solar cells,
slashing the price by 60 percent last year and driving competitors out of
business. Three U.S. solar companies, including Fremont's Solyndra, plunged
into bankruptcy in 2011.
Smaller tariffs
But the proposed tariffs on Chinese imports were smaller than some U.S.
solar companies wanted, ranging from 2.9 to 4.73 percent.
"A 2 to 4 percent import tariff is not going to make a material difference,
either for Chinese manufacturers or American manufacturers," said Shayle
Kann, managing director of GTM Research. "It would have to be a lot higher
than that."
The tariff proposal comes one week after President Obama said he would push
China to ease its export limits on rare earth materials used in high-tech
products. Obama's administration has often cast the development of renewable
-power technologies as a race against China and other countries, and the
proposed tariffs may heighten the tension.
Tuesday's announcement does not end the solar dispute.
A final decision on the tariffs probably won't come until fall. And the
Commerce Department is still investigating complaints that China's solar
industry is "dumping" cells - selling them for less than they cost to make -
in a bid to seize more of the U.S. market. A preliminary decision on the
dumping complaint is expected in May.
"It's not unusual to have these (low) levels in the preliminary decision -
it's also not unusual for those numbers to jump, to change significantly,
between the preliminary and the final," said Ben Santarris, spokesman for
SolarWorld.
The company, which is based in Germany but has a factory in Oregon, leads a
group of seven solar businesses seeking the tariffs. Called the Coalition
for American Solar Manufacturing, the group filed a petition with the
Commerce Department in October, asking for tariffs as high as 100 percent.
The campaign quickly created a rift within America's solar industry.
The same plunging prices that are squeezing manufacturers have boosted the
fortunes of other companies that develop large solar power plants or install
panels on businesses and homes. Installation of solar panels nationwide
more than doubled last year, reaching 1,855 megawatts, according to GTM
Research and the Solar Energy Industries Association. A megawatt is a
snapshot figure, roughly equal to the amount of electricity used by 750
typical homes at any given moment.
'Clear divide'
"There was a very clear divide between companies, and we were pushed and
pulled in multiple directions," said Rhone Resch, president of the Solar
Energy Industries Association, a trade group. "The industry was on the edge
of their seats."
In addition, U.S. solar companies feared that China might retaliate. China
has the potential to become an immense market for solar equipment, and
American companies don't want to be locked out.
So controversial has the trade case been that four of the coalition's seven
members remain anonymous. In addition to SolarWorld, the group's publicly
acknowledged members are Helios Solar Works, based in Wisconsin, and New
Jersey's MX Solar USA.
To solar installers and developers, the possibility of steep tariffs on
Chinese gear posed a significant threat. A federal grant program that the
solar industry relied on for years expired at the end of 2011, and financial
incentive programs in states such as California are shrinking.
"Every penny does matter, because we are competing against fossil fuels - an
industry that has been around a hundred years and has 100 percent adoption,
" said Lyndon Rive, chief executive officer of SolarCity. The San Mateo
company leases solar power systems to homeowners and benefits from falling
equipment costs.
Rive expressed relief that the tariffs proposed Tuesday weren't larger. But
they won't help the industry reach "grid parity," the point at which solar
electricity costs the same as or less than electricity from fossil fuel
plants.
"It's not going to break the bank for anyone," he said. "It's just another
hurdle in getting to retail parity."
David R. Baker
Wednesday, March 21, 2012
The U.S. Commerce Department plans to slap import tariffs on Chinese-made
solar cells in a trade dispute that has strained relations between the two
countries and divided the American solar power industry.
The tariffs, proposed Tuesday, follow complaints that the Chinese government
has given its solar companies an unfair advantage in the international race
to dominate the industry, supplying low-cost loans and land for new
factories.
Those factories have swamped the global market with cheap solar cells,
slashing the price by 60 percent last year and driving competitors out of
business. Three U.S. solar companies, including Fremont's Solyndra, plunged
into bankruptcy in 2011.
Smaller tariffs
But the proposed tariffs on Chinese imports were smaller than some U.S.
solar companies wanted, ranging from 2.9 to 4.73 percent.
"A 2 to 4 percent import tariff is not going to make a material difference,
either for Chinese manufacturers or American manufacturers," said Shayle
Kann, managing director of GTM Research. "It would have to be a lot higher
than that."
The tariff proposal comes one week after President Obama said he would push
China to ease its export limits on rare earth materials used in high-tech
products. Obama's administration has often cast the development of renewable
-power technologies as a race against China and other countries, and the
proposed tariffs may heighten the tension.
Tuesday's announcement does not end the solar dispute.
A final decision on the tariffs probably won't come until fall. And the
Commerce Department is still investigating complaints that China's solar
industry is "dumping" cells - selling them for less than they cost to make -
in a bid to seize more of the U.S. market. A preliminary decision on the
dumping complaint is expected in May.
"It's not unusual to have these (low) levels in the preliminary decision -
it's also not unusual for those numbers to jump, to change significantly,
between the preliminary and the final," said Ben Santarris, spokesman for
SolarWorld.
The company, which is based in Germany but has a factory in Oregon, leads a
group of seven solar businesses seeking the tariffs. Called the Coalition
for American Solar Manufacturing, the group filed a petition with the
Commerce Department in October, asking for tariffs as high as 100 percent.
The campaign quickly created a rift within America's solar industry.
The same plunging prices that are squeezing manufacturers have boosted the
fortunes of other companies that develop large solar power plants or install
panels on businesses and homes. Installation of solar panels nationwide
more than doubled last year, reaching 1,855 megawatts, according to GTM
Research and the Solar Energy Industries Association. A megawatt is a
snapshot figure, roughly equal to the amount of electricity used by 750
typical homes at any given moment.
'Clear divide'
"There was a very clear divide between companies, and we were pushed and
pulled in multiple directions," said Rhone Resch, president of the Solar
Energy Industries Association, a trade group. "The industry was on the edge
of their seats."
In addition, U.S. solar companies feared that China might retaliate. China
has the potential to become an immense market for solar equipment, and
American companies don't want to be locked out.
So controversial has the trade case been that four of the coalition's seven
members remain anonymous. In addition to SolarWorld, the group's publicly
acknowledged members are Helios Solar Works, based in Wisconsin, and New
Jersey's MX Solar USA.
To solar installers and developers, the possibility of steep tariffs on
Chinese gear posed a significant threat. A federal grant program that the
solar industry relied on for years expired at the end of 2011, and financial
incentive programs in states such as California are shrinking.
"Every penny does matter, because we are competing against fossil fuels - an
industry that has been around a hundred years and has 100 percent adoption,
" said Lyndon Rive, chief executive officer of SolarCity. The San Mateo
company leases solar power systems to homeowners and benefits from falling
equipment costs.
Rive expressed relief that the tariffs proposed Tuesday weren't larger. But
they won't help the industry reach "grid parity," the point at which solar
electricity costs the same as or less than electricity from fossil fuel
plants.
"It's not going to break the bank for anyone," he said. "It's just another
hurdle in getting to retail parity."